Many senior citizens and patients with chronic illnesses don’t just suffer from their ailments and body constraints, but their mental health also suffers from the lack of things to do. While immediate care can prolong their life, many would attest that their quality of life is dipping slowly.

Elder care need not be one of mere preservation—through integrated behavioral health treatment, you can also increase the overall well-being of the senior. By integrating some value-adding activities into their routine, their life may experience a new vigor and excitement, which is a reward for your senior in itself.

To help you out in this regard, here are four basic activities a senior citizen can do in the regular that would improve their quality of life by an amazing degree.

Attending book club meetings

Joining a book club and attending regular meetings is a great start for helping your senior citizen usher into elder care. Through these, their mental capacity remains sharp, as this requires them to keep their mind working about what book they’re reading. It also integrates them into a regular social activity, thus allowing them to develop relationships and friendships with fellow book club members. Beyond this, it provides something for them to look forward to, especially if meetings are done on a fairly regular basis.

Joining walking groups

Many would not think twice about taking daily walks, but for a senior citizen, it could be a great adventure. While it may be a bit difficult to entice a senior to start walking on a daily basis, a group of friends accompanying them can help them look forward to the activity.

This, in turn, makes it both a form of light exercise and social activity. This gives an opportunity to bond in an incredibly healthy way while getting to enjoy the feeling of the outdoors. After all, a bit of sun and fresh air can really do wonders for a person’s general health and mood.

Performing guided exercise routines

If your senior citizen is a bit more spry and energetic, then they may be able to do some more active and heavy exercises—provided, of course, that it’s supervised. This can be as easy as purchasing home TV exercise videos and DVDs, allowing your senior to watch and follow, without the pressure of having to keep up with anyone else.

For the even more active, then group sessions handled by a professional may be an option. Certain exercise routines, such as tai chi, can be handled by many older practitioners, which could introduce even more social groups to mingle and integrate with.

Visiting the Senior Center

Many seniors wouldn’t like the idea of going to a senior center even if it were just for a quick visit. However, one visit may be all it takes to change one’s mind for regular trips. Senior centers provide a great way to socialize with similarly aged people while getting to do guided activities that are perfect for their age and pace. This provides the senior with a social circle that’s close to the age of everyone in it—which can be a comforting thought for many senior citizens.

Conclusion

Caring for an elder may be a bit difficult, but by adding certain practices, senior citizens may be more open to receiving care and guidance. By applying some of the activities included in this guide, you can improve the quality of life of your senior, even if it’s only just by a bit.

Are you looking for assisted care management in the USA that provides a program that integrates behavioral health into it? Get in touch with us today at Medistics Health!